This invention relates generally to remote controls and consumer electronics, and, more particularly, relates to printer devices.
Consumer devices continue to become more complex, and for many consumers, more difficult to fully understand and operate. The first consumer electronic devices, radios and, later, televisions, had no remote controls. The controls then were simple—a combination power switch and volume control and a tuning control. With the advent of the remote control, new features were added—one of the first being the volume “Mute” feature. Soon, it became possible to perform many functions on the TV or the radio (now part of a larger system of amplifier, pre-amplifier, tuner and speakers).
New, and eventually popular, consumer electronic devices were later introduced, including the VCR, CD player and more recently, the DVD player and PVR (personal video recorder). The VCR was initially introduced without a remote control, but quickly remote controls were added to the product offering. Early VCR remote controls simply controlled the power and the transport mechanism (“Play,” “Stop,” “Pause,” “Rewind,” “Fast Forward” and “Record”). Today, VCR remote controls have far more features. For example, they permit the adjustment of tape tracking, the selection of programs for future recording, direct channel access, frame-by-frame program viewing and the ability to set the VCR's clock. To this end, the VCR remote control has grown from seven or eight keys to twenty or more.
The CD player, when first introduced, came with a remote control. The first CD players held a single disk and were easy to control. Today, a consumer can buy a CD player that holds two hundred or more disks. This CD “jukebox” permits the consumer to painstakingly enter the title of each disk by remote control, and control which disk and track of that disk will play next. This remote control has also grown from ten keys or so to over thirty with many keys performing two or more functions.
Not only have the devices and their remote controls become more complex, but there are now many more devices that consumers are adding to their family room. Around the time of the Great Depression, the family would sit around the radio, the only electronic entertainment device of its time. Television was introduced in the 1950s and by the 1960s, many homes had one. VCRs were introduced in the 1970s. Today virtually every home has at least one TV and VCR. CD players were introduced in the 1980s and DVD players and digital satellite systems were introduced more recently in the late 1990s. All of these devices, and many more, now arrive in the home with a remote control.
It has become far more complex than ever before to simply turn the electronic family entertainment system on. While for some families the TV can still be turned on with the press of one key on the TV remote control, for other families, the pre-amplifier, amplifier and cable or satellite have to be turned on, too. To watch a rental movie, the VCR or DVD player has to be turned on. Finally, all these devices have to be controlled —volume set, the “Play” mode activated, the TV tuned to the right channel, and so on. So, rather than maintain a plethora of remote controls on the coffee table, consumers turned to universal remote controls or larger control systems which consolidated many, if not all, of the remote controls in the home into one, more easily used device.
Universal remote controls available today perform a valuable function, consolidating three, four, five and more remote controls into one device. Typically, the universal remote control simplifies operation by reducing the number of keys, and therefore, the number of features available to the consumer. With the same number of keys as found on one TV or VCR remote control, the universal remote control can operate the basic functions of several devices. For many consumers, the basic functions are enough for day-to-day use.
For consumers with a more complex entertainment system or for those desiring control over a larger range of functions, extensive consumer electronic control systems are available. These systems can be configured to control the family entertainment system, the home alarm system, heating and air conditioning, lights and the drapes. These systems put the consumer in intimate contact with all possible electronic and electrical functions of the home.
For companies that provide remote controls, consumer electronic devices continue their march toward even greater complexity. A new wave of devices are in development now and include, among others, digital TV, personal digital assistants with two-way communications and products that converge the TV and the PC. Thus, a new form of easy-to-use remote control will be required to meet the needs of consumers as these new devices are integrated into the home. In addition, to appeal to the largest number of consumers, this new form of remote control must be inexpensive. Furthermore, to accommodate the continuing growth in complexity of consumer electronic devices, this new form of remote control must possess new features and include the ability to stay flexible.